Mesoamerican Jade, the Semi-Precious Stone of Choice

 

In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, jade was the stone of choice for aristocrats, religious nobles and the wealthy.

Aztec, Maya, Toltec, Olmec and the other civilizations of Mesoamerica held jade in great respect for its beauty and artistic versatility.

                             From masks to

                                           glyphs, 

                    decorative figurines,

 

                             religious totems or

god figurines, jade was used in every aspect of life in Mesoamerica.

Pieces like this Were Jaguar Olmec mask are often over 25 centuries old.

           Some could be worn while

      others held important information.

The detail was impressive no matter the size of the object.

These artifacts give the modern world a glimpse into the art and culture

of these long-lost civilizations.

While the identity of the individual artisans that made these works will never be known, their

pieces are a haunting 21 century reminder that while civilizations may rise and fall beauty is eternal.

All these pieces were at a special exhibit at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles in late 2017.

Old World Aristocratic Opulence

Nothing says wealth like gold plated furniture, door, walls, candelabra etc.

The highpoint of such aristocratic opulence was the era between the Renaissance and the American and French Revolutions.

All these items are currently at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
 

Science, 18th Century Style

A microscope fit for the Royal Academy in the early 17th Century was as much a work of art as a functional piece of scientific equipment during the "Age of Enlightenment."

Even the case and its delicate tools, was a magnificent piece of craftmanship.
 

This set is at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Northwest Native Americans

 

One of the dooms of independence of North American the military power of the Europeans

"Pinkie and The Blue Boy"

"Pinkie" the 1794, painting by English master Thomas Lawrence of 11-year-old Sarah Goodin Barret Moulton (22 March 1783b. - 23 April 1795d.) When first presented in the 1795 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (ironically, the day after Sarah died) the work was proclaimed a masterpiece by the judges.

The captivating grace of young Sarah Goodin Barrett Moulton is as evident to today's views as it was more than 2 and a quarter centuries ago.

Since the 1920''s Pinkies constant companion has been the circa 1770, Thomas Gainsborough masterpiece "The Blue Boy." Thought to be Jonathan Buttle (1752b.–1805d.), but as is the case with many great works of art, the truth of who The Blue Boy really was will never be known. What is known is ever since the "Railroad Barron" Henry Huntington bought the painting, for the then record price of $728,800 (over $10,000,000 today), The Blue Boy and Pinkie have been as inseparable as the most beloved brother and sister.

Residing in the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, California, Pinkie and The Blue Boy have and will continue to enthrall those who have the good fortune to visit them. 

Gold-Gold-Gold Treasures of the Americas, Lure for the Europeans

Gold was a common artistic metal to the advanced civilizations of Pre-Columbian America.

Religious, purely decorative, status symbols or just works of art, master goldsmiths created them all.

The beauty of the works was lost on the vast majority of Europeans who saw only the monetary value of the gold items melted down into bullion, coins or jewelry more to European aesthetics.

The immense amount of gold (as well as silver and precious gems) available in the "New World" became a lure to countless European adventurers, explorers, conquistadors and the governments that encouraged them.

The untold wealth of the New World would lead to colonization, the destruction of the native civilizations and eventual Europeanization of the entire America's.

What little of the stunning gold art works that remain are but a small portion of the vast treasures that were destroyed and repurposed by the Europeans.

Little did the artisans of this golden beauty realize that their works of art would help to hasten the destruction of the world they knew.  The lure of gold-gold-gold would lead to many more mass movements of Europeans, but none would so change the world as did these wonders of the golden arts of the New World.